"It Was a Different Time"
About '''"It Was a Different Time" '''is the third tale in the sixteenth episode of the eleventh season of The Nosleep Podcast. It concerns two boys breaking into an abandoned mall and seeing echoes of the past. Written by C.M. Scandreth, it has a runtime of 25:30 and was read by Kyle Akers, Graham Rowat, and Nikolle Doolin. It is the 1369th tale overall on the podcast. Summary A boy, Ben, feels sorry for his poor friend, Johnny. Him and his mother live in a trailer on the edge of town and can barely afford the basic necessities. Ben and his mother try to help out when they can, but things are usually tight for them. One day, Johnny arrives at school with a backpack full of junk food, which he sells for a hefty profit to the other kids in class. When Ben asks him where he got all the stuff, Johnny says he got it at Emmett's Mall. Emmet's Mall is a foreclosed, abandoned shopping center in town. It has been deserted since 1981, when a boy was found murdered in the first floor mezzanine, his head bashed in by a blunt object. Before that, goods had started disappearing from stores, strange noises could be heard, and things seemingly moved on their own. Terrified of the haunted mall, all the townsfolk refused to shop there, leading it to be foreclosed. Ben thinks Johnny is lying, but agrees to accompany him on his next trip. A few nights later, they arrive at the mall. Johnny tells Ben to wait. Minutes later, muzak beings playing over the old speakers and faint outlines of the goods that used to stock the stores appear. The boys grab them easily and begin making their way through the mall. Ben sees some dark, clouded shadows running around occasionally, which Johnny says are the ghosts that haunt the area. He says if you're quiet and don't bother them, they won't hurt you. Things go like this for a few months until one fateful night. Ben, on a ground level floor, looks up to see Johnny running for his life from a shadow, brandishing a blunt object. The ghost bludgeons him with it before shoving him off the mezzanine. However, his body disappears before he hits the ground. Ben runs back home and claims to have no knowledge of Johnny's whereabouts. He is officially declared a missing person. Ben, angry at the ghosts for murdering his friend, travels back to the mall every night for the next few months with a bat. Eventually, he catches sight of one and chases it through the mall before bludgeoning it and throwing it off the mezzanine. As he looks over, Ben realizes he had been chasing Johnny and sees himself watching from the first floor. Doing research, Ben discovers the description of the boy that was found dead in the mall in 1981 is identical to Johnny. He realizes that Emmett's Mall is some kind of time trap. The shadows they saw were themselves at various points in the mall, and that he was the shadow he saw murder Johnny. He also figures out the 'paranormal activity' that closed the mall in the first place was their stealing and running around from the future. Cast Kyle Akers as Ben Graham Rowat as Johnny Nikolle Doolin as Ben's mother Category:Tales Category:Season 11 Category:C.M. Scandreth Category:Kyle Akers Category:Graham Rowat Category:Nikolle Doolin